I Feel Good: La historia de James Brown

I loved the sheer energy and dedicated portrayal that Chadwick Boseworth was able to channel from the late Great Godfather of Soul. From the groovy tunes, to the steps but, most importantly for me the voice. Hands down he captured Mr. BROWNS vocals eerily similar to the point of feeling as if the man's spirit was in the theater with you. Yes, we see a small snippet of him as a flawed man and father. We look at his poverty stricken past and what it was like to grow up with extreme segregation and racism. I was able to pity him, love him, want him,hate him,worship him and be awed by him in the small allotted time that I was given. Sometimes the story skips between decades and you never get a full scope of this personal life but you do get a revelation of the genius that he was during a time where being black and about your business, taking no prisoners was not highly thought of or widely accepted.

"You can't make everybody happy and still stay on top." What do you get when you take a young black man growing up in the segregated south abandoned by his mother and raised by his grandmother in a brothel add in a desire to succeed at all costs and toss in more soul and funk than you can handle. The answer…you get the Godfather of Soul…James Brown. I love true story movies and ones that I know a little about are my favorite. Like most people my age my first introduction to James Brown was in Rocky 4. I have liked his music but knew very little about his life. I can't speak to how accurate the movie is but what I can say is the Chadwick Boseman did an amazing job. The best part of the music bio-pics hasn't been the actual movie itself but the acting. Jamie Foxx, Joaquin Phoenix and now Chadwick Boseman. They all inhabit the characters and that is the most exciting and interesting aspect of the movie. You feel like your watching the actual events and not a recreation. Overall, an OK movie that James Brown fans will love but the reason to watch is for Boseman's portrayal. I give this a B.

While it is in no way a perfect film, GET ON UP succeeds largely due to Chadwick Boseman's transcendent performance as the "hardest working man in show business," James Brown. Among the positive elements (Chadwick Boseman aside), I liked the non-linear approach to the story which differentiated it from a lot of the other biopics that I've seen. I thought it was fairly creative to have the story jump around in a way that suggests a stream-of-consciousness approach to recounting one's life. Each significant event triggers other memories, and despite how disorienting it is at first, by the end I was totally used to it.

There were also some other interesting choices made, like having the young actor portraying James Brown as a child replace Chadwick Boseman in a pivotal moment late in the film for a couple of shots. And of course, Chadwick Boseman completely immersed himself in the role, to the point that I often forgot I was watching an actor instead of James Brown himself. Of course, they used James Brown's real voice instead of having Boseman sing, but the way in which he transformed himself and the physicality he brought to the role was just amazing. Another interesting choice was having Boseman break the fourth wall occasionally to narrate parts of his own story and give his perspective on different events.

That being said, not everything was as good as it could have been. Despite Boseman's awesome performance, at times the film felt like more of a greatest hits compilation than a straightforward story, the non-linear aspect aside. It also glossed over some important aspects of the character of James Brown. There was only one scene in which any domestic violence was hinted at, when there was undoubtedly a lot more. I'm not saying that there should have been a lot, but it would have been more honest to address this. I also feel like the relationship with his absentee parents wasn't addressed as fully as it could have been, considering how it affected the man he became. Still, one advantage of the non-linear structure was the placement of a scene with his mother that occurs earlier in his career, but his placed towards the end of the film for emotional impact. A little manipulative? Maybe, but I don't mind being emotionally jerked around by a movie once in a while.

All things considered, the filmmakers did a lot to make this stand out from all of the other biopics out there, even if it does treat its subject with kid gloves and goes on a little longer than I would have liked. Still, Chadwick Boseman's performance alone is enough to recommend this film, and there's so much great music in it that it's hard not to like.

James Brown, a musical legend whose funk and soul spread from city to city over decades. With movies looking for anything to make a story about, these days, it was only a matter of time before the Godfather of Soul was chosen. Yet despite his musical influence, could the directors make a film that would do justice to him, or like other tributes fall short and are nothing more than a bore. Going in for my third movie this weekend, I'm here to share my thoughts about Get On Up, titled after one of my favorite songs.

After seeing Four Seasons, I worried that this movie would be another drawn out drama with only tidbits of music here and there. Yet the directing team decided to actually bring the music to the front and give the audience the music they knew and loved. Get On Up plays a plethora of songs from toe tapping Get On Up to the soulful Please, each timed in the story to mimic the emotions at hand. While some of the songs are only segments, the movie gives you enough of a show to satisfy the funk within you. The numbers are well designed, with Chadwick Boseman bringing some impressively choreographed moves, including the famous split that will have guys cringing. One feels like they are in a constant, at home with the crowd as the cameras circle around the bandstand. What's also nice is that the songs are spread throughout the movie, and one doesn't have to wait to long before another song is blasting through the speakers. However, this also leads to a little problem, as so many songs leads to a messy story that is fractured, sporadic, and sometimes confusing to follow.

This leads me to the next part, the story. Like many movies about musical icons the story is predictable mess, again showing traumatic backstories and showing their rise to fame. However, Get On Up diverges from the typical linear presentation and decides to jump around Brown's life. In the beginning, it is confusing to follow, because the order doesn't make sense, nor is it easy to find the relevancy at the time. As the movie continues, you get an idea of what the director is trying to do, using the scenes as an illustration of his thoughts at the time, the primal drive to his actions. It's cool, but again confusing as you try to pick up what is going on at the times. Some of the flashbacks are also awkwardly timed and sometimes seem to are left untied as the movie continues. At times I asked, "What was the point of that scene?" only to get an answer an hour down the line. It's diverse yes, but the approach needs to be ironed out a little more for this reviewer to get the most out of it. Unfortunately, this movie's plot is still similar to all band stories, in the fact that there is an inevitable rise and fall that we will see them go through.

Despite the order of the scenes though, Get On Up has some impressive production behind the movie. As I already mentioned, the music scenes are the most entertaining of the bunch, but the drama surrounding it is well designed. Plenty of my fellow audience members commented on how well they captured the decade, designing the various cast in the costumes of the era. Backstage hassles, luxurious hotels, and studios were all crafted into smoke filled wonders, and you feel drawn in to Brown's life. What was also nice to see was the lack of using a grey filter, a very popular filter at the moment, to make the already dismal world even more depressing. Instead, the world is colorful and vibrant, much like the music.

Finally the acting. Boseman steals the show, managing to bring a lot of energy and fun into the enigmatic Brown. His raspy voice sounds much like the voice in the singing, though it is not an exact match, I think he did nice on the vocals and delivery. He is funny, and seems to be a natural at playing the self-involved performer, because he didn't seem to try too hard. Boseman captures the emotional spectrum of Brown brilliantly in this movie and next to the music, is the biggest highlight of the film. To counter the selfishness of Brown is his friend Bobby Byrd played by Nelsan Ellis who also does a great job. Although his character takes a backseat through most of the film, and only speaks at key points, Ellis does a lot with his limited lines. And just like Boseman, Ellis can bust a move, though his pipes are drowned out in the numbers. As for the rest of the cast, the iconic Dan Aykroyd plays the same arrogant business man he always does, though with a bit of a softer side when it comes to James. Viola Davis brings the same passion to her role, though like Ellis is limited to the amount of time on screen. Octavia Spencer brings her sass back to scene and has some guiding insight, but does take a back seat to Boseman as well.

Overall Get On Up is a visit to the past of powerful music. Fans will travel back in time with Brown's hits, and the beat will have you tapping your toes. Yet the predictable drama, the dark and depressing mood, and the unique presentation had me feeling the movie lasted a little too long, especially at the slow parts. Recommended audience members are big James Brown fans, or those looking to take older audience members to a movie. Otherwise, skip this film and wait for it to come to your home entertainment set up. My scores for this flick are:

Biography/Drama/Music: 7.5 Movie Overall: 6

Chadwick Boseman is James Brown as he recreates his evolution as a performer in exhaustive dimension and magnitude. The raw and charismatic excitement of Brown's presence are all here. This shows dedication and natural ability as Boseman reminds us of a heritage that music cannot deny and a story that needs to be told again and again as Brown's influence continues to mesmerize us when we hear him. The entire cast were soulful and talented. Viola Davis was very moving as Brown's mother who had abandoned him as a young child and we sense the deep sorrow and loss that Brown must have endured and helps us understand his determination and inner fire as he himself catches hold of his spiritual connection to source and allows his musical genius to take hold of him and us. The words and messages in the songs that Brown wrote may at times seem simplistic but true as he sings them with such knowing, a man who has experienced life in all its dimensions.